Following are the important business news carried by leading financial dailies on Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012:

Business Standard

ONGC to pay USD 5 billion for ConocoPhillips Kazakh oilfield stakeConocoPhillips said it plans to sell its 8.4% stake in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field to Oil and Natural Gas Corp for about USD 5 billion as the Indian company looks to make up for flagging production. Kashagan, the world's biggest oilfield discovery since 1968, holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil-in-place, of which 8-12 billion are potentially recoverable. First production from the field is expected in 2013.

OVL to acquire ConocoPhillips' 8.4% stake for USD 5 bnIn its biggest acquisition, ONGC Videsh (OVL) will invest around USD 5 billion to acquire ConocoPhillips` 8.4% stake in the Kashagan field of North Caspian Sea. The deal is expected to close during the first half of next calendar year. The company had acquired Imperial Energy for USD 2.1 billion in 2009, its biggest buy so far. The latest acquisition will help it offset the drop in production from Sudan and Syria, which pulled its output down by more than 7% in FY12.

Tata Steel to commission Phase-I of Kalinganagar plant by Aug 2014Tata Steel which is developing a six million ton greenfield steel plant at Kalinganagar, projected as Odisha's steel hub, hopes to commission first phase of the project with a capacity of three million ton, by August 2014. ``We are getting cooperation of the locals. Construction work on our Kalinganagar plant is going on in full swing. By August 2014, we hope to commission the first phase of the plant,`` said H M Nerurkar, managing director, Tata Steel.

SpiceJet to start flights on three international routesBudget airline SpiceJet said it will start daily flights on three new international routes -- Kochi-Male, Kochi-Dubai and Dubai-Ahmedabad. Flights on Kochi-Male route will commence from November 29, while operations on Kochi-Dubai and Ahmedabad-Dubai will commence from December 10 and 19, respectively, the company said in a statement.

RIL demands freeing of gas pricingReliance Industries demanded freeing of natural gas pricing saying that the scarce fuel should be priced at the rates which consumers are willing to pay. "The value of a good is determined by how much you are able to pay. It is not determined by how much I am going to sell at," RIL President and COO (Business) B Ganguly said at the World Energy Policy Summit.

Aditya Birla Minacs opens new center in MexicoBusiness Process Outsourcing company (BPO) Aditya Birla Minacs, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo, on Monday said it has set up a new center in Mexico. The company said it has also partnered with Qualfon, a BPO provider for setting up the new facility. The company officials said the new center will provide customer support services to its clients in North America and also to expand its presence in the Latin America region.

Shriram Properties to raise Rs 3 bn from PEsShriram Properties, the real estate arm of Rs 500 billion Shriram Group, is planning to raise around Rs 3 billion from PE players. The company backed by PE investors has said that it is talking to new PE funds. Speaking to reporters after launching Shankari Sanjeevani at Gudavancherry on the outskirts of Chennai is meant for the senior citizens M Murali, managing director, Shriram Properties said that the company is planning to buy lands worth around Rs 6 billion in and around Chennai.

Biocon, Trinity College of Dublin partner for genetic researchBangalore-based biotech company Biocon on Monday said that it has formed a partnership with Trinity College of Dublin. According to the new partnership, Biocon will sponsor two annual scholarships to Trinity College of Dublin that will give Indian students an opportunity to work in top laboratories in the college. ``We are very pleased to partner Trinity College to announce two annual PhD scholarships for bright young Indian minds to pursue research in the area of genetics and microbiology. This is in line with our commitment to promote innovation and we are confident it will enable scholars to experience the academic and scientific excellence at the university, and leverage the collective knowledge to find solutions for unmet human needs,`` Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman & managing director, Biocon, said.

Jet Airways in stake sale talks with EtihadLoss-making carriers Jet Airways and SpiceJet are in talks with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd, respectively, to sell minority stakes, an Indian government source said. Any deal would be the first since India changed its rules in September to allow foreign carriers to buy stakes of up to 49% in local airlines, which have been battered by fierce competition and high operating costs.

Business Line

Claris Lifesciences may sell unit to Japanese co for USD 400 mClaris Lifesciences saw its stock price soar nine per cent on the BSE, at Rs 285 on Monday, buoyed by market talk that the company could be selling its injectables business to a Japanese company for about USD 400 million.

Patni brothers buy stake in Grameen CapitalAmit Patni and Arihant Patni, past-promoter shareholders of Patni Computer Systems, have bought stake in Grameen Capital from IFMR Trust. Grameen Capital is a social investment bank that has facilitated over Rs 7 billion of capital to microfinance and social enterprises. The Patni brothers were promoter shareholders of Patni Computer Systems before iGate Corp bought the company and de-listed it from the exchanges earlier this year.

Lupin launches generic anti-cholestrol drug in USLupin has launched generic version of Tricor, an anti-cholesterol drug, in the US market after getting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc, a subsidiary of the firm, has launched fenofibrate tablets in the strengths of 48 mg and 145 mg strengths in the US, Lupin said in a statement.

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